Dallas Cowboys: First Free Agency Dealings Affected Cowboys in Multiple Ways

The smooth opening to the free agency has proven to be the way of the last years for Dallas.

The other teams in the division spend money and take bold initiatives two days before anything becomes official. The consternation is growing among Cowboy fans who doubt the wisdom of the conservative approach to their club and fear that the team will be left behind.

What has happened so far has implications for the Cowboys' ability to land Earl Thomas, retain Cole Beasley and sign Amari Cooper for an overtime. These developments, and more, are not resolved until Tuesday.

Let's start with the pursuit of the Cowboys against Thomas, a quest that must now be classified as unpaid, unless the club wants to spend well beyond its budget and engage in a potentially fierce war with Houston .

According to indications this week, Thomas wanted to become the highest-paid security in the NFL, exceeding the $ 13 million average from Eric Berry of Kansas City. This has made a two-year contract worth more than $ 28 million at least achievable for the star who will be 30 years ahead of her team-sponsored activities this spring.

Well, the landscape has changed dramatically. Landon Collins has agreed to sign an $ 84 million, six-year $ 45 million contract with Washington. Tyrann Mathieu subsequently signed a $ 42 million, three-year agreement with the chiefs. Both average $ 14 million.

An optimist will say that the Cowboys still have a chance because Thomas has not yet agreed with a team. It can also be argued that the list of security contenders has been reduced.

A pessimist – or a realist – will retort that everything Thomas does at this stage adjusts his views upwards. Houston lost two guarantees Monday to Mathieu and Kareem Jackson. Are the Texans now ready to meddle with Thomas, who has returned to Austin with his family?

The concession must be made that if the Cowboys plunge into this market to sign Thomas, this will have a negative impact on the team's ability to tie all their existing young stars to long-term contracts.

Receivers of slot machines Adam Humphries and Jamison Crowder agreed on Monday to negotiate between 9 and 9.5 million dollars on average. Both are younger than Beasley and have both come under what the recipient of the Cowboys hopes to receive in the open market.

Does that make it more likely that Beasley stays? Probably not. He is predisposed to leave to show that he can play a more productive role than the one he was asked for in this first offense. There is also this financial reality to consider:

Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Cooper are the Triplets of this generation and should all be significantly expanded in the next 12 to 17 months. How much money can Dallas put aside for a slot machine taker who turns 30 on the second night of the April match, especially considering the money already invested in the offensive line and the money that has to be dispersed to keep the defensive core together?

An extension for Cooper will occur, but does not seem imminent. Nevertheless, the cost of doing business has increased since Pittsburgh traded Antonio Brown to Oakland, where the Raiders quickly awarded him a $ 50.1 million contract over three years, with over $ 30 million guaranteed.

Ironically, the Raiders exchanged Cooper for the Cowboys, in part because they did not want to pay him a lot of money. Now, the big deal they gave Brown should raise the ceiling of what Dallas has to pay.

And file it. Indianapolis awarded Devin Funchess a one-year, $ 10 million contract worth up to $ 13 million. Funchess is not as good as Cooper.

Regarding the rest of the NFC East, Philadelphia agreed to deal with defensive tackle Malik Jackson, left tackle Jason Peters and traded against receiver DeSean Jackson.

Washington added Collins. The New York Giants exchanged their guard, Kevin Zeitler.

And Dallas? Linebacker Sean Lee signed a contract Monday reducing his base salary. The club also added the tight end Codey McElroy.

The cautious approach of the club with regard to the opening hours of the free agency is not imperfect.

But that does not generate much enthusiasm either.

Twitter: @DavidMooreDMN